Ruthie Kott

Wicker Park reporter

Renegade Handmade was packed on Sunday, just a few days after they announced that they were closing the storefront January 31. Not all of the customers knew about the closing (even with the giant “We’re Closing” painted on the front window), but most were taking advantage of the huge sales. Prints and T-shirts have definitely…

The beloved Division Street shop, which features DIY goods from more than 400 artists, is closing its doors after more than half a decade in Wicker Park: A spokesperson for the company told The A.V. Club that an economic smackdown wasn’t the driving force for this decision. On the contrary, the Renegade Craft Fair spin-off was…

It’s not hard to find Christmas tree lots in the city, from Home Depot to small, independent lots on street corners. If you want to support Midwestern farmers this season, here are some spots to check out this year to pick out your own locally farmed and freshly picked fir: Christopher Hohenstein, founder of City…

The last time Robert John Burck was in Chicago, he was almost arrested. In January, he was in town to do a radio interview, and as soon as he walked into the building, he told RedEye, “security was throwing me out. I’m like, I’m supposed to be here! I came walking in in my underwear.…

Dudes, get your wallets ready: for three months, Vintage Smith (2041 N. Damen Ave.), a pop-up shop that carries vintage men’s clothes, makes its home in Bucktown, through February. [Vintage Smith] carries American-made vintage brands like, Levi’s, LL Bean, Woolrich, amongst others, from the ’40s to today. Though, you would never guess some of the items…

Around 10 a.m., a taxi crashed into the front window of Prasino (1846 W. Division). “The taxi just lost control,” chef Scott Halverson said—the road was too slippery. No one was badly injured, he told RedEye, although one of the six customers in the restaurant at the time was taken away in an ambulance as…

There is a movement happening. And Thursday night, it’s descending on Wicker Park. Soon after the St. Louis-based American Mustache Institute dubbed Chicago the top Mustache-Friendly City in America — in part, due to its “heritage of retired Chicago Bears players who have continued to embrace a Mustached American lifestyle” — the organization has planned…

Garmental, a local fashion website that suggests boutiques and styles for users based on their style profiles, recommends a “preppy” look from Bucktown boutique Roslyn (2035 N. Damen Ave.) as its Oct. 20 Featured Look.

Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno (1st) writes on the Huffington Post about his support of Occupy Chicago: I was in New York a few weeks back, when the movement was beginning to gather steam. Curiosity took me to the protests, which at that time weren’t really being widely reported. The common narrative then, and one that…

UPDATE: The truck’s maiden voyage has been delayed, and it will launch Tuesday, October 18. If lunchtime comes around and you’re craving some barbequed meat, you’re in luck: starting Tuesday, for about three weeks, the new Lillie’s Q Meat Mobile will start the day at 11 a.m. at 28 N. Franklin, in the Ampco System…